The present invention relates to an apparatus for filling blocks, especially fragile or soft blocks of dry noodles or the like, into cup-shaped containers.
For example, Examined Japanese Patent Publication SHO 6915/1978 discloses such a filling apparatus which is adapted to fill blocks into containers individually by placing the block on a container inverting rotary drum at a specified station, fitting the container as turned upside down over the block at the same station and rotating the drum with the block covered with the container.
The apparatus described has the advantage that the block is subjected to almost no external force during the filling process and can therefore be filled into the container without producing fragments or chips or deforming even if fragile or soft. However the apparatus has the following problem. Because the rotary drum must be held at rest while the block and the container are fed to the drum and further because the block and the container are fed individually, the drum needs to be held stopped for a prolonged period of time per cycle, so that the apparatus is not adapted for a high-speed filling operation.